Mama Kit and Hospital Transport Project

Our objectives are:
(i) To ensure all Batwa mothers have free access to safe childbirth in hospital;
(ii) To provide nutritious meals during their hospital stay to help them recover;
(iii) To distribute essential birth kits necessary for hospital delivery.

Planning

Deliveries not assisted by qualified healthcare personnel, and in environments with low hygiene levels, are major contributors to both maternal and infant mortality, especially in developing countries. At Bwindi Hospital, basic care is free except for the purchase of some materials necessary during childbirth. In addition to this, transportation from various villages has high costs, especially for more remote locations. These additional costs have always been a limiting factor for access to care and the use of appropriate health services for most of the Batwa families. Access to health services therefore becomes an essential objective to ensure survival and a good 'start of life' for these newborns, who can at the same time receive essential vaccinations and their mothers breastfeeding support.

Before the implementation of the project, about half of the deliveries took place in the villages, without any medical supervision and in unsuitable environments, often in the huts of the women giving birth. The most distant villages, and therefore those with higher transportation costs, have always been the most disadvantaged. From the moment we started the project, only a minimal percentage of births did not take place in Bwindi Hospital, in cases where labor began quickly and without the possibility of finding transportation in time.
For the remaining proportion of deliveries (>90%), all occurred successfully in the hospital, including cases of cesarean sections that required more intensive medical service.

The strategies, based on scientific and operational evidence, that we have decided to implement are: (i) Reimbursement or direct payment for transportation to and from the hospital to the homes of women giving birth; (ii) Provision of a birth kit including 2 plastic sheets, 2 sets of clothes and hats, 2 small sheets, 1 roll of gauze, 1 towel, 1 roll of cotton, 2 soaps, postpartum underwear and 1 basin; (iii) Distribution of food for the days of hospitalization, both for the patient and the caregiver, including corn flour, beans, rice, salt, onions, tomatoes, oil and meat.

Expected Results

Our objectives for 2025-26 are to (i) continue support for the Project, estimating an increase in deliveries to 35-40 per year, (ii) maintain transportation as an integral part of the Project, (iii) integrate other activities to ensure that routine postnatal care is carried out, including guaranteeing coverage of transportation costs for routine care after childbirth and for essential vaccinations, as well as offering a support service for breastfeeding and complementary feeding from 6 months of age (iii) support more the mothers during pregnancy ensuring appropriate Antenatal Care services frequentation.

Results Achieved

The project was created in March 2021 and since then it has been carried out without interruption. In these four years, through the distribution of Delivery kits and ensuring Transports of mothers and children to their villages, we have achieved the following results: (i) The percentage of hospital deliveries has increased from ~50% to >90%; (ii) Maternal and infant mortality has decreased significantly, especially thanks to access to medicalized services and the operating room for cesarean and complicated deliveries; (iii) All pregnant women receive meals in hospitals rich in iron and animal proteins through the addition of meat; (iv) All pregnant women can benefit from free transportation to and from their village and the hospital; (v) All newborns and pregnant women receive adequate pre-peri-postnatal medical therapies and vaccinations recommended by WHO.